Effort to bring high-speed maglev trains to D.C. progressing

Senate lobbying reports show Northeast Maglev paid more than $500,000 to four lobbying firms last year. The Washington Post reports (http://wapo.st/WkDqOC) the company says it is continuing to make progress toward bringing the benefits of what it says is the word’s fastest and most advanced train to the Northeast corridor.

High-speed maglev trains are suspended on a magnetic cushion above the track and travel free of friction. There aren’t any in the U.S. The only commercial maglev lines are in Aichi, Japan, and Shanghai.

A $5.1 billion proposal to build a 39-mile maglev line linking Baltimore, Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport and Union Station in Washington stalled over lack of legislative support and cost concerns.